Method of distillation of oil



E. A. RUDIGIER.

METHOD 0F DISTILLATION 0F OIL.

APPLICATION FILED MAI/27. 1918.

1,386,077. Patented Aug. 2, 1921.

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WITNESS.-

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/ff' ATTORNEYJ.

E. A. RUDIGIER.

METHOD 0F DISTILLATION 0F OIL.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 27, 1918.

1,386,077. i PaIenIedAug. 2,1921.

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WITNESS: v VEA/TOR I m a' f /M'ATToRNEI/J.

unirsi) STATES EDWARD A. RUDIGIER, O-F BAYONNE, NE

W JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO STANDARD OIL COMPANY, A CORPORATION 0F NEW JERSEY.

METHOD OF DISTILLATION OF OIL.

Application led May 27,

To @ZZ 'whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWARD A. RUDIGTER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Bayonne, in the county of Essex, State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Methods of Distillation of Oil, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a method for the distillation of o-il, and more particularly crude mineral oil for the removal of moisture therefrom, before the incoming oil reaches the main body of oil in the still, and will be understood by reference to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which F igure 1 is an end elevation of abattery of stills, the left hand still illustrating means for practising the improved process; Fig. 2 a vertical longitudinal section through the still on the left hand yof Fig. 1 and its con'- denser; Fig. 3 a plan view, and Fig. 4 a a vertical section of the pan, as shown in the still ofF ig. 2; and Fig. 5 a longitudinal section through the stills of Fig. l, other than that of the first stillof the battery.

It is well-known that some crude oils, as for example, Mexican crude, contains a relatively larger percentage of water, and that the heating of such oils in the stills i'n the usual manner results in the formation of emulsions or frothing, which militates against efiicient working of the stills. My present invention contemplates the provision of means for subjecting the crude oil to a preliminary heating at a temperature sulficient to drive olfany water therein, before the oil reaches the main body of oil inthe still. One means by which the method may be practised is illustrated in the drawings, in which the numerals l, 2, 3, 4 and5 indicate the stills of a battery, the stills being connected in the usual manner to permit' the oil to flow from one to the other in series, for the removal of products at increasing temperatures. The desired removal of the water from the crude oil may be effected in the first still, when operating a battery, and one means which has been lfound effective, is an open pan 6 supported in the upper part of thestill above the normal oil level, and preferably off-center so that it will not interfere with the top man head. This pan preferably extends substantially the length I Specification of Letters Patent.

' careful watching to Patented Aug. 2,1921.

1918. Serial No. 236,717.

from the oil inlet end or rear of the still, to

the front or furnace end. The initial chamber 6 of the pan may be covered by a plate 8, having an opening 8 therein to accommodate the oil inlet pipe 9. The still 1 is provided with the usual vapor pipe 11 and condenser 12, the other stills having similar vapor pipes and condensers, not shown.

In the use of the described construction, the crude oil enters through the charging line to the compartment 6 of the pan, and flows in a continuous lilm form over the several partitions 7, and escapes through the outlet openings 10 in the side walls of the pan to the oil in the body of the still. With the body of the oil at a temperature of 330 to 340o F., the temperature of the vapor space in which the pan 1s hung, will be about 240O to 260 F., so that the incoming oil flowing through the pan in a continuous stream will be sufficiently preheated to drivevolf any water Y The water vapor -passes off with the light naphtha vapors through pipe 11 to condenser 12, and both condensates flow to the receiving tank where they separate by gravity. The oil from still 1 flows through pipe 13 to the next still 2, in which the next fraction of al higher boiling point is taken ofi', the oil then flowing in succession through the remaining stills of the battery, following the usual practice.

A distinct advantage incident to the practice of the present method, is that instead of charging the still in batches, and the introduction 0f air through a perforated pipe in the bottom of the still, and at a time when the still is fired, to blow oif moisture, as heretofore, and which practice results in the loss of a relatively larger percentage of naphtha, I am enabled to charge the oil in a continuous stream into the pan 6 and to drive off the moisture 'from the oil by the heat in the vapor spaceof the still itself.

his practice increases the capacity of the still byallowing the oil to be fed into the still at an increased rateof iiow without danger of puking, whereas, a battery reducln the same amount of crude without use o the pan 6, or its equivalent, requires prevent the still throwing the oil over into the receiving house.

which it `may contain.

The present method lhas been successfully followed in the treatment of Mexican crude, which carries at times as much as 2 per cent. of water, the Water being driven off as the oil is preheated in the pan' 6, in the vapor space of the still l.

While I have shown my invention as practised with a battery of stills, it is to be understood that it may be used where there is but one distilling operation, that is, where.

a single still is used.

- What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is

l. The method of treating oil to remove water therefrom, which consists in passing the oil at atmospheric temperature onto an extended surface located in the vapor space of a heated still containing a body of oil undergoing distillation, permitting the oil to flow over said surface and into the main body of oil being distilled, subjecting .the oil while on said surface to a temperature evolved from said distillation suiicient t'o vaporize the water contained in the oil on said'surface, and conducting off and condenslng the vapor product.

2. The method of removing water from y of a still in which a body of oil is being subjected to distillation, holding the oil on said surface until it is heated by the heat arising from said distillation to a suflicient temperature to vaporize the water in the oil, then permitting the oil to flow into the main body of the oil being distilled in the still, and conducting of and condensing the vapor product resulting from said Water and distillation.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto signed my name in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

EDWARD A. RUDIGIER.

Witnesses ADELE S. EBERHARDT, CHARLES S. JONES. 

